Huanglongbing (HLB), the most important citrus disease worldwide, is associated with bacteria transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) preferably through new shoots present in the canopy. In a commercial citrus plant, the vegetative growth of the scion is influenced by the rootstock variety in which it is grafted. Although all commercial citrus varieties planted in recent years are susceptible to HLB, the dynamics of the rootstock in grafted plant could influence the progress of HLB, whether at the plant or grove scale. In this work, HLB incidence in ‘Valencia’ sweet orange grafted onto 16 rootstocks and its relationship to the tree canopy volume and flushing dynamics were evaluated in a field trial under ACP control. The experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions in Bebedouro, state of São Paulo, Brazil, from 2011 to 2019. ‘Flying Dragon’ trifoliate orange known for its dwarfing characteristics was used as the rootstock. A reduction in canopy volume by 77% at 8 years of age were observed compared to the most vigorous rootstocks. The frequency of flush shoots of ‘Valencia’ sweet orange was not influenced by the rootstock, but the abundance of flush shoots was lower on three semi-dwarfing rootstocks and as well as ‘Flying Dragon’. Although HLB incidence on ‘Flying Dragon’ was lower than on ‘Rangpur’ lime and other three semi-standard rootstocks (trees with canopy volume between 51 and 75% of the ‘Rangpur’ lime canopy volume), all other combinations had similar HLB disease progress regardless of the canopy volume and flushing dynamics. Moreover, under field conditions, variations on the cumulative HLB incidence greater than 26% were necessary to significantly separate rootstocks. Therefore, the results suggest that true dwarfing rootstocks have potential to integrate the management program for HLB and that mechanisms in addition to tree vigor appear to be involved in the host–vector relationship.

As in several fruit crops, citrus trees with decreased size allow for a higher planting density, which may lead to higher productivity and facilitate operations such as harvesting and spraying. The use of dwarfing rootstocks is one of the most feasible methods for tree size control, but few commercial varieties are available to date. In this work, the long-term performance of Valencia sweet orange grafted onto 51 hybrid citrus rootstocks was evaluated in rainfed cultivation at 6.0 m × 2.5 m tree spacing in Northern São Paulo State, Brazil. About a third of the evaluated hybrids were classified as dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks, that is, respectively inducing a relative canopy volume of <40% and 40–60% compared with the standard rootstock, the Rangpur lime Santa Cruz selection. The production efficiency and soluble solids concentration were conversely related to the canopy volume. Three citrandarins of Sunki mandarin (TSKC) × Flying Dragon trifoliate orange (TRFD) were grouped within the most productive dwarfing rootstocks. Other hybrids that expressively decreased tree size were mainly sensitive to drought; therefore, the mean fruit yield was low, indicating the need for irrigation, albeit fruit quality was high. Estimated productivity on the selected TSKC × TRFD rootstocks would double to an average of 40 t·ha⁻¹·year⁻¹ if tree spacing was adjusted to the smaller tree size. Although the HTR-208 citrandarin and the LCR × CTSW-009 citrumelimonia were as vigorous as the Santa Cruz Rangpur lime, they induced an outstanding fruit yield due to their highest tolerance to drought and, hence, can be considered for rainfed cultivation at wider tree spacing.

The rise in the productivity of sweet orange in Brazil has been related to the use of superior rootstocks and higher tree density, among other factors. In order to investigate whether the cropping system and the land use efficiency would benefit from more intensive cultivation, the performance of Valencia sweet orange was evaluated over nine years on four rootstocks, which induced contrasting vigor, at 513, 696 and 1000 trees·ha⁻¹. Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) 1697 and IAC 1710 citrandarins, and diploid and allotetraploid (4×) Swingle citrumelos were classified as semi-dwarfing, super-standard, standard, and dwarfing rootstocks, respectively. The fruit yield per tree was decreased at higher tree densities, notably for more vigorous rootstocks. Conversely, the cumulative productivity was increased over the evaluation period by 27% at 1000 trees·ha⁻¹, irrespective of the rootstock, and the most vigorous rootstock resulted in 2.5 times higher production than the dwarfing one on average. Most fruit quality parameters were seldom influenced by the tree density, while the rootstock was a decisive factor in improving the quality and the soluble solids content. Dwarfing rootstocks allowed for harvesting 17% more fruit per minute by manual pickers. Because the tree row volume per area is lower with such rootstocks, even at higher tree density, spray volume can be reduced, although appropriate equipment should be developed for better spray coverage on smaller trees. Nine years after planting under strict vector control, the cumulative incidence of huanglongbing-symptomatic trees on IAC 1710 was double that on Swingle 4×. Taken together, the results suggested that the land use efficiency in the citrus industry can be further improved by planting vigorous rootstocks at moderate to high tree densities. Nevertheless, obtaining highly productive semi-dwarfing and dwarfing rootstocks is the sine qua non for making high-density pedestrian sweet orange orchards more profitable.